Latest news with #environmentalSafety
CBC
15-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Alberta regulator orders oilsands operator to abandon its mining assets
Social Sharing An Alberta oilsands company has been ordered to abandon its operations after repeatedly failing to address a string of problems — including cracked pipelines, leaking tanks and other critical repairs — over almost three years. The abandonment order, issued this week by the Alberta Energy Regulator against Sunshine Oilsands Ltd., said its operations pose a risk to public and environmental safety and must be fully decommissioned. Sunshine operations include a long list of well sites in the Athabasca oilsands. The regulator said Sunshine had failed to comply with operational requirements and demonstrated that it lacked the capability — and financial wherewithal — to comply with federal and provincial environmental laws. Despite repeated assurances that the company would soon have the cash flow needed to fix its problems, "the funding has not materialized," wrote Colin Woods, an AER manager of field operations. "Sunshine has been unable to provide the AER with substantive evidence that any future funding is assured and will be sufficient to enable Sunshine to come into, and to maintain, compliance." Sunshine Oilsands is the latest in a string of financially distressed oilsands companies ordered to abandon their inventories due to concerns over operational safety, including Tallahassee Exploration Inc. in June 2024 and Revitalize Energy in November 2024. Sunshine Oilsands did not respond to requests for comment. Chronic disrepair, financial issues Regulatory documents paint a picture of an operation in chronic disrepair and an operator under financial duress. The abandonment order follows previous orders dictating Sunshine needed to shut down and surrender its assets, which include its West Ells project, located 115 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alta. The in-situ oilsands plant relies on horizontal wells and injected steam to extract bitumen from deep below the surface. Previous infractions at the site, which has been operational since 2017, include broken turbines, leaking pipelines and containment units that were at risk of spilling over. On Nov. 14, 2024, citing a history of non-compliance and ongoing financial distress, the AER ordered Sunshine to suspend all operations. The order required the operator to post a security deposit of more than $6.1 million and provide a series of "reasonable care measures" that it would adopt to improve operational safety. However, Sunshine's plan was deemed "deficient," and the company never came up with an acceptable strategy for how it would come into compliance, regulatory documents said. In January, as the company continued to falter, Sunshine officials told the AER in writing that it was still struggling to secure $1.3 million in financing required to provide staffing, fuel and critical repairs at West Ells. It told the AER the funds would not be available until June or July. At that point, the AER said it was "no longer satisfied that Sunshine had the ability to adequately monitor the infrastructure at its sites." On Feb. 24, the AER issued another order, this one directing the Orphan Well Association — the industry-funded agency tasked with cleaning up wells in Alberta that have been abandoned or no longer have a responsible owner — to manage all Sunshine-licensed sites. Sunshine wanted to take back its operations More problems surfaced after that, said the documents Brush surrounding the West Ells site was not properly maintained, and inspectors found signs that the grass near a south flare stack had caught fire from a falling ember. Damaged containment tanks were not properly drained and continued to leak through the spring. A pipeline had been improperly shut down and purged, resulting in the line splitting. Multiple failure points were found along the line, resulting in a rupture. According to the regulator, Sunshine Oilsands wanted to take back custody and control of its sites. In April, the company wrote to AER and "stated its desire" to resume custody and control of its assets. But the request was refused due to the company's ongoing failure to comply with the previous orders. The company had fallen behind on its payments to the regulator and had never delivered the operational plans that were required. During a May meeting with the regulator one week before the abandonment order was issued, the company could not say how it would maintain operations, including how qualified staff would be paid and how urgent repairs would be completed. According to the regulator, the Orphan Well Association will maintain control and custody of the company's assets indefinitely to ensure public safety and environmental protection.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Portland Fire unveils new water lance that can ‘pierce through' metal to combat EV fires
PORTLAND, Ore. () — Portland Fire and Rescue is unveiling its new 'water lance' tool in an effort to minimize the toxicity released in the water and the air from lithium-ion battery fires from electric vehicles. The new Cold Cut Cobra Water Lance is so powerful, it can be used to penetrate metal and can minimize the amount of water needed to combat EV fires, officials said. Portland archbishop 'stunned' at new pope selection The proliferation of sometimes explosive EV battery fires is a fairly new phenomenon, with fire departments across the nation struggling to respond to them. As a result, a variety of approaches have been taken among the different fire departments around the country, PF&R officials said. The issue stems from the fact that lithium-ion battery fires can dispense toxins in the water runoff or in the air via aerosolized particulates, leading to respiratory health dangers for those nearby. Traditional firefighting methods would either require using a lot of water to put the battery fire out, creating toxic runoff, or waiting until the fire consumes the battery and use less water, but allowing a plume of toxic smoke to occur instead. Both methods risk environmental and health dangers. However, the new Cold Cut Cobra Water Lance tool can be used to penetrate into the battery compartment to dispense the water. The tool uses less water than traditional methods, and the water that is used is contained, minimizing toxic water runoff. 'The Cold Cut Cobra has a self-contained water tank with a motor used to power a high-pressure water pump, with the additional ability to mix in a nontoxic, environmentally safe iron ore aggregate used to penetrate into solid materials such as metal and concrete, using a hole of just 1/8' in diameter,' PF&R said in a press release. 'The tool is designed to pierce through the metal protective battery compartment cover using the aggregate-water mix. Once the hole is made, the iron ore is removed from the stream and the water stream floods the compartment, quickly extinguishing the fire.' Portland team hits Disney with trademark lawsuit The water lance method also minimizes the risk of the battery fire rekindling, a common problem with this type of emergency, officials said. The Cold Cut Cobra Water Lance will be housed in the North Portland Heavy Squad 24 in the Overlook Neighborhood, providing quick access via I-5 to problematic areas of Portland streets where EV battery fires are likely to occur, PF&R said. The funding for the tool was made possible by the City of Portland's Bureau of Fleet and Facilities and the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund. Back in September, lithium-ion batteries that experienced 'thermal runaway' were the root cause of a in Portland. Portland Fire said they had responded to a number of other fires caused by the lithium battery in e-scooters in the months leading up to the blaze. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
